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Posts Tagged ‘prisons’

The…State has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house, what books he may read or what films he may watch.  –  Stanley v. Georgia

Torture Chamber

This will never stop until all cops who murder prisoners are charged with murder:

LAPD…[pigs]…beat…a handcuffed and restrained [mentally ill] man multiple times…[in a cage until he died].  Jose Carlo Hoyos-Munoz…[was repeatedly chok]ed, elbowed, and kneeled on [by several over]weight [pigs] in three separate incidents…Hoyos-Munoz…“lost his mind”…and [attacked several members of his family, but had been in custody for]…approximately 20 hours…[when cops decided it was vitally important to the entire human race that he be] fingerprint[ed immediately instead of turned over to mental health professionals.  So they oinked the magic words]…”non-compliant” a[t him]…before [a gang of] six [pigs violently attacked]…him…and [hobbled]…him…[When he continued to act like the extremely mentally ill person he was, the gang ludicrously oinked the magic word “]safety[“]…at…him…to [justify another brutal gang assault, which this time included repeatedly kicking him in the head and]…pressing [his] face into [a] cot…un[til he collapsed]…and [stopped] breathing…[LAPD is hiding] the names [and faces] of the [murderers]…

All-Purpose Excuse (#1077)

“Sex trafficking” is now entirely a Trump regime propaganda weapon:

…When young people enter the country seeking asylum without their parents, they are generally released to a sponsor, often a family member already living in America…These youth [“UACs”] are supposed to keep their addresses current in order to follow up on their applications for asylum and immigration court dates, but not all of them do…[Trumpists] have claimed, with[out] evidence, that UACs were being placed with unvetted or unfit sponsors, [call]ing…this… “human trafficking”…as a[n excuse] to limit migration…[the] Trump [regime]…claim[s] that…300,000 [of these minors a]re considered “missing”…this number is an utter invention—most UACs live with their sponsors, and some are now adults.  Nevertheless, Trump’s DHS has prioritized locating these young people [in order to]…deport…[them].  Later stages of the program a[re] intended to locate UACs and charge their sponsors with…crimes…such as trafficking…[or] violations of the Mann Act…ICE has hired [bounty hunters] to [track] immigrants, including UACs[, like animals, and goons] have…[revoltingly referred to raids intended to abduct schoolkids as] “wellness checks”…

Tissue of Lies (#1243)

It’s been 4 years since this cop fad died out, long enough for Americans to forget:

Florida [copaganda] officials [claim] a statewide [“]operation[“] has helped find dozens of…children [and teenagers whose records the state had misplaced, or who were living with someone other than the court-assigned custodial parent or guardian].  Florida [psychopath-] General James Uthmeier [claimed] 163 children were [“]recovered[“, but in reality few were actually children and none were actually]…missing…Officials…[also tested a new euphemism for jails used to cage young people the State has decided to brand “]human trafficking[” victims, namely]…[“]designated recovery hubs[“]…

These “missing child operations” were innovated in Georgia in September 2020 after the pandemic made actual “stings” much more difficult, and became popular with cop shops all over the US for about two years.  They’re constructed by combining a few arrests of sex workers and clients with mass arrests of teens in foster care and shelters and pretending they’re related.

See No Evil (#1386)

A rare court judgment lessening the government’s ability to persecute thoughtcrime:

In Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U.S. 557 (1969), the Supreme Court created an exception to the rule that the government may freely restrict or punish speech that is…legally obscene, holding that possessing such material in one’s home is protected, as the First Amendment does not permit the government to punish people for private thoughts…And while sexually explicit images of real minors…that require…child abuse to create…[constitute an] unprotected category where even private possession is unlawful, the Supreme Court held in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002), that “virtual” CSAM not involving real minors…falls within Stanley’s protection.  That’s been settled law ever since.  But that didn’t stop the federal government from prosecuting the private possession of sexually explicit [computer-generated] images of [imaginary] minors in United States v. Anderegg…The Seventh Circuit [reject]ed [the prosecutors’ arguments], affirming th[at]…the First Amendment protects private, in-home possession of obscene depictions of non-existent minors…

Walled Garden (#1629)

Burble burble BLUE STATE burble drool:

The California legislature [has] passed…A.B. 1709…a sweeping ban on social media use for young people under…16.  This…deeply flawed piece of legislation [intentionally] cuts young people off from essential information and experiences, particularly harming vulnerable youth and marginalized groups who often find safety in supportive online communities they can’t access offline…platforms would be prohibited from offering virtually every functional recommendation algorithm and basic input…to anyone under 16…By labeling these basic tools as “addictive,” the bill relies on…[pseudo]science [demonizing] youth social media use…A.B. 1709 is a massive privacy and free speech nightmare. Denying young people access to digital forums (or stripping out the basic tools needed to navigate them) does nothing to make young people safer or healthier…and…age-gating requirements will force everyone to give big tech companies even more personal information…

Panopticon (Nosey Parkers)

Safetyism has always enabled totalitarianism:

…the city [council of] Pflugerville[, Texas]…unanimously voted to terminate their [contract] with Flock S[urveillance]…resulting in the city turning off all 28 Flock License Plate Reader cameras leased by the city and covering them with plastic bags…[after learning that over 400 agencies had accessed its Flock system…even though only 83 had authorization]…the city…has requested that all city data be deleted immediately and permanently [but it is doubtful Flock will comply]…

Stalkers in Blue (#1668)

Cops will abuse warrantless surveillance for as long as it exists:

A Texas [cop ab]used [the] Flock [surveillance network] more than 10,000 times to [stalk] an ex-girlfriend, her family members and other people she had relationships with…Zachary Anthony Klein…was…investigated [after one of his victims discovered]…the [stalking and initiated]…a public information request [so the cop shop could no longer ignore his crimes]…that…[were committ]ed “nearly all hours of the day and night”…from June 2024 to December 2025…The ex-girlfriend [said]…Klein was…obsessed…with the idea she was cheating on him and would often look through her phone…he…also…threatened to find and kill someone she had a prior relationship with…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Get on the fucking ground…I will fucking tase you. – cop to “missing child”

Even with all of her songs to choose from, this felt to me like the most appropriate tribute to one of the world’s most beloved human beings.  The links above it were provided by Radley Balko; Mistress Matisse; T. Greg Doucette; Ryan Cooper and Scott Long; Nun Ya (x2); and IncarcerNation, in that order.

From the Archives

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Torture, brutality, and abuse [are] endemic to New York’s prisons.  –  Jerome Wright

Vulture Watching (#1451)

I doubt this will do very much good until the current SCOTUS is neutralized:

…a U.S. district court judge in Idaho ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion to preserve their physical and mental health.  Not just to save their lives, and not just to prevent a major health catastrophe—but to protect their ongoing health…Dr. Stacy Seyb challenged Idaho’s [near-total] ban…argu[ing] that the U.S. Constitution also protects abortion in cases where pregnancy worsens existing conditions, could lead to suicide, or involves fatal or severe fetal diagnoses…Judge Lynn Winmill largely agreed, ruling that health-preserving abortions are constitutionally protected…[but] declined to block Idaho’s ban on abortions for doomed pregnancies…Judge Winmill ruled that ending a pregnancy for health reasons is rooted in American history and tradition, writing that Idaho’s ban is an “outlier position that contravenes basic principles of our constitutional order”…

No Escape (ROTW #17)

Much, much more of this, please:

California prison officials have [allowed female prisoners to be subjected to] sexual abuse and harassment…for years, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a new report…[compiled] after hundreds of [the victims] filed legal claims [because of rape and other] sexual exploitation by staff…investigators said they found an “unbroken pattern” of staff sexual assault dating back over 20 years at California’s two women’s prisons.  The department concluded that prison officials knew women faced a substantial risk of sexual abuse but [simply did not care]…Investigators pointed to gaps in surveillance camera coverage, a lack of confidential reporting options, inadequate investigations and [refusal] to hold staff accountable…[due] to “deliberate indifference”…

Creepy Coppers (#1573)

One of the people the government empowers to police your sexuality:

A [California] probation [cop named]…Damon Jon Luecke…[has been arrested] and…held without bail…[for talking a] 13[-year-old boy into sending him]…sexually explicit…photographs and [trying to talk him into] meeting in person…the mother…fo[und out]…and…re[ported him]…Luecke [has an]…extensive history working with youth…[embroiled with the in]justice system…[including] 16 years…as a [screw in a] juvenile [prison camp]…

Torture Chamber (#1608)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

[New York screws]…locked Rahkeem Brown in a [cell with]…a mattress on the floor and…no running water…[after barfing the magic word “]contraband[“] in his [face]…they replaced his prison uniform with a [stained] hospital gown…which…smelled like feces…gave him…a…bucket…and told him to [magically produce an unnamed] item [from his anus] and give it to them [as though he could lay golden eggs]…he spent the next eight days in the room, giving [pervert pigs] stool after stool…but [they kept robotically declaring that]…the stool was…an “insufficient amount”…They gave him cups of water, but it was barely enough to drink and…the room’s overhead lights never turned off…[screws torture their victims] in similar rooms across New York’s state prison system…[all they need to do is barf the magic word] “contraband”…in 2019, [one victim] sued [a prison] for holding him in a “[shit] room” for 61 days…[but] courts dismissed the suit, [barf]ing…the [magic torture-justifying word] “security”…In 2021, another man sued the s[ame prison] for [lock]ing him in a [shit] room…for over two months…a court…award[ed] him [a mere] $6,390 …Yet another [gang of screws tried to justify two weeks of the torture by]…plant[ing drugs in the room after their victim was released]…

Walled Garden (#1620)

I’m afraid this will be far too little, far too late:

France’s top court has struck down a ban on social media for under-15s…[because] it infringed upon freedom of expression…the French president immediately [vowed to ram through]…a new [version designed]…to [circumvent] the cou[rt’s objections despite]…the Constitutional Council…[finding] that…the legislation…”is neither appropriate, necessary, nor proportionate”…

Moloch (#1643) 

Pigs in schools should be abolished, not given torture devices:

[Pigs paid to lurk in] 29 public schools across the Omaha area have access to gloves capable of [painfully] shock[ing students into submission] — the same technology [ICE]…is [handing to its goons]…The Omaha P[igsty admits] that the gloves have been used [at least] twice…on students [they wished to brutalize, an atrocity spokespigs euphemized as]…”the officer was able to secure that individual”…

Mad Libs (#1660)

Amazon only cares about books as a path to profit:

Amazon is buying massive quantities of books, scanning them for [chatbot] training…and destroying them in the process…404 Media…plac[ed] a tracking device in a rare book we suspected would be acquired by a…[chatbot pusher] and follow[ed] it around the country to its final destination…[which] was an Amazon warehouse in Las Vegas…[where] all they do is receive massive shipments of printed books which they then cut the bindings off in order to scan the books more quickly.  The printed book is destroyed in the process. The logo of the Amazon team that works at this warehouse, called VGT3, is a dinosaur, brandishing its teeth and with a book in its hands…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Sex workers have been asking this question for 20 years.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-16T16:58:18.635Z

There is a product called "Suddenly Salad" which I've always thought had the most bizarre name. In my imagination, the ways that product works is one opens the box, then at some unknown point in the next 24 hours the salad suddenly appears in front of one without warning, which could be dangerous.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-19T03:37:39.650Z

Absolutely. Some pictures wordlessly sum up a moment in history.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-20T16:38:43.159Z

Post a Photoshop of Trump wandering aimlessly into an historical event:

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-21T18:06:59.488Z

When you were a weird kid in the '70s and you saw this on your TV, you KNEW you were in for some good viewing!

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-23T06:41:38.881Z

Good thing they added the extra 40 years, just in case he manages to die and come back as a vampire twice.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-23T19:15:36.022Z

The only moral form of warfare is War of Assassins, in which only the rulers of the warring nations, plus their deputies, agents, and operatives, are legitimate targets. In other words, nobody who does not CHOOSE to be a combatant is in direct physical danger except by accident due to proximity.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-24T07:44:29.870Z

People who cannot understand friendship, and truly believe that all close friendships are motivated by a mutual desire to rut, are both pathetic and contemptible.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-25T17:45:06.947Z

Is a "health movement" anything like a bowel movement?

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-26T03:21:25.961Z

I'm sure you feel safer now.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-27T17:21:46.847Z

"The Singularity" is the God of the futurist religion. If you want perspective on anything any tech cultist says about "The Singularity", simply substitute "God", "Providence", "The Force", or any similarly-vague and irrational name for "magic"."The Singularity is coming" = "The Second Coming".

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-28T17:49:37.779Z

Sex workers always warn y'all about predators, and y'all never listen.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-29T17:42:59.877Z

Absolutely. I still laugh at the memory of Mr. Moose and his various tricks to win the Captain's consent to having ping-pong balls dropped on him.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-30T18:28:53.057Z

Apparently it will take more than self-induced terminal illness to teach him to behave normally in public.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-07-31T17:05:53.189Z

It wasn't really Yoko's fault.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-01T07:48:22.576Z

I'm not especially concerned with anyone mistaking my writing for something a chatbot shat out, nor am I willing to change my style in any way to keep stupid people from doing so. I write as the Muse moves me, not by working from some tedious set of guidelines or to please some specific audience.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-02T07:51:12.904Z

I miss my late best friend Grace every single day. And yet, there is a part of me which is glad she passed away a few days after Trump's inauguration, so she never got to see what Musk, who was a hero to her specifically BECAUSE of SpaceX, was really like. I'm glad she was spared disillusionment.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-04T18:26:25.697Z

Nutritionism is not science, exhibit umpteen thousand, nine hundred eleventy-seven.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-05T17:18:45.827Z

Suggestion: limit data centers to whatever size they can power with on-site solar. It would remove the noise & pollution factors, and if the company wanted to go bigger they'd have to have more land, creating more buffer between them and neighbors.Don't bother to point out flaws; I'm just musing.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-06T18:07:11.455Z

Oh look, Maggie was right once again, what a shock, etc.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-07T17:09:01.629Z

Like all those Bond girls who were the supervillain's mistress, only the villains' schemes are more pathetic, like "I will ruin a beloved corporation, hahahahahaha!" instead of "I will cause World War III so my organization can rule over what is left, hahahahahaha!"

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-08T17:07:29.519Z

Your regular reminder that desalination has existed for decades; Americans just don't want to build the plants because REASONS.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-10T02:49:12.833Z

If skills were sexually transmitted, I'd be a Renaissance polymath with *exceptional* ability in medicine, engineering, physics, law, politics, music, and several sports including golf and fishing.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-10T17:30:33.743Z

The US has become a global laughingstock.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-11T17:21:45.852Z

This is breathtakingly brilliant. I don't think I've ever seen such a deft collection of clever, striking, and above all *apt* insults and condemnation of a well-known specimen of poisonous vermin.Well done, @jojofromjerz.bsky.social!

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-14T18:31:38.573Z

What avatar will he replace it with next? This?

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-16T17:36:54.670Z

Librarians' chief duty is preserving human culture from the stupidity of other humans.

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T17:31:00.759Z

Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-08-19T03:52:13.785Z

 

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Body-worn cameras are…used…to present the police to the public in the most favorable way possible.  –  Christopher Schneider

Shame, Shame (#1455)

I’ve been skeptical of the notion of body cameras as a police “reform” for well over a decade:

…ICE [goons] will be equipped with much-delayed body cameras by the end of next month…but…the [boss goon will] restrict the public release of footage unless “it is in the best interests of the agency”…[It should be obvious that] none of the [footage] in…[cases where goons murder a citizen will be released]…taxpayers who put up more than $30m for the cameras [will] still be kept in the dark about [murders and other atrocities while]…releas[ing] recordings that reflect well on the agency’s image…

The Cop Myth (#1615)

A woman who sleeps with a cop endangers her entire family:

A Texas [cop named Chad Eberle was] arrested in Mexico [for murder]ing three people and critically injuring the mother of his child…[when the victims tried to stop him from abducting] his three-year-old son.  Two women and one man were killed…and…the child’s…mother was…shot in the head and remain[s] in critical condition…Eberle was [caught] while attempting to cross from Mexico into Texas…The three-year-old was unharmed…

Welcome To the Future (#1620)

Privacy as we once knew it is a thing of the past:

USA Today Co. has made a de[vil’s bargain] with [fascist surveillance] company Palantir to analyze and monetize user behavior...CEO Mike Reed [barfed buzzwords like “]activate audience data[“]…and… “actionable intelligence” [at investors to dazzle them with bullshit]…USA Today Co. owns more than 200 local newspapers…along with its national daily USA Today.  The [surveillance collusion] with Palantir comes as search traffic continues to fall [due to corporations like Palantir selling chatbots to the very stupid]…Axel Springer — which owns Business Insider, Politico, Bild, and The Telegraph — and Fox News [are] also [collaborating] with Palantir…to…[spy on their readers, and] Thomson Reuters…supplies [them] data…

Shame, Shame (#1635)

Facebook is the most antisocial corporation other than those who run prisons:

Over the last nine months, Mark Zuckerberg…has run dozens of paid ads that include explicit [computer]-generated child [porn] and images of minors alongside sexually suggestive statements…some [of the] ads linked out to so-called nudify or undressing apps…the ads [have] run…across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and…Threads…[and represent] the second time in recent weeks that paid [child porn] ads…have been found on [Zuckerberg]’s platforms…this isn’t content posted by third parties…[but rather] ads that were reviewed, approved, and allowed to run…[until they were caught, but] have now been removed [according to standard Facebook] policies on [getting caught red-handed by journalists]…

Lest you think Zuckerberg is merely looking the other way rather than intentionally spreading poison:

A[n Australian] white nationalist…neo-Nazi…is being paid by Facebook…to produce content…Hugo Lennon…has been receiving revenue through Facebook’s “Content Monetization” program since September 2025…[by making propaganda] videos…referencing white supremacist concepts like replacement theory and remigration.  The Noticer, a[n]…Australian…website that regularly promotes white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideologies, has been making money through the same Facebook revenue program since November 2025…[even though it] is currently suspended from [Twitter]…because it [is so violently]…hateful…Monica Smit, the founder of the anti-vaccine…group Reignite Democracy Australia, joined Facebook’s content monetisation program in September 2025…[but has] been earning advertising revenue through Facebook from as far back as 2017…[by selling] “radiation protection” bracelets…

Creepy Coppers (#1637)

The inevitable result of sexual predators being given power over women:

An…Oregon woman has filed a $300,000 lawsuit [because] two [cops] used a body-worn camera to surreptitiously record her as she urinated…[after they demanded] she…provide a urine sample in response to fabricated [DUI and drug possession] charges…six weeks later, the…District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges without explanation, [making the victim, Tami] Nuxall[, suspicious]…the city of Enterprise and its entire three-member police force…Shannon Stillman…Jacob Curtis and…Kevin McQuead…have…a [long history of harassing]…Nuxall, [who]…lives less than half a mile from the police station…[it started in] 2023, when she was ticketed for failing to carry proof of insurance…and…Curtis…pulled a gun on her and her children…[boss hog McQuead’s idiotic defense was that] Curtis was…[only threatening her life “]for a short time[“.  Naturally]…she told city council members that police were “out of control” and…in the [next] 15 months…she was stopped and ticketed…more than any other time in her life…six times in [all, and] half of those cases were dismissed…

Torture Chamber (#1645)

Your “leaders” call this “correction”:

Inside LA County’s only jail for women, brown or foul-smelling liquid flows from the taps where the women [are supposed to] get their drinking water.  They shower under rusty pipes and on floors covered in mold.  Gnats, worms, and maggots regularly crawl out of sink drains and…[broken] toilets…run day and night…The Sybil Brand Commission of Institutional Inspections…called the situation “an ongoing and unresolved public health crisis”…[more than] half of the [victims of this atrocity]…are [legally innocent]…

The Vultures Descend (#1651)

This was always the endgame, regardless of claims to the contrary:

A teenage girl has been arrested in North Carolina for “assault with a deadly weapon” after allegedly taking abortion pills 31 weeks into her pregnancy, which prompted her to go into labor.  The teen’s boyfriend has also been arrested, and charged with negligent child abuse…the “deadly weapon” appears to refer to…abortion pills…[which cops claim] signaled her “intent to kill”…Instead of being allowed to rest and receive medical care just days after going into labor, the 18-year old was arrested and jailed…then forced to show up for a court hearing…There is no crime here.  Yet, by attacking [a frightened girl] with this mishmash of charges, cops are trying to make self-managed abortion a crime…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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In a few short years, the entire Western world might finally end the age of the open internet.  –  Kelsey Piper

Torture Chamber (#1445)

For a warden to be charged, there must be much more to this:

State p[igs] and [screwlords] are conducting a “potential criminal misconduct” investigation into…a Western Maryland prison after the latest in a rash of [murder]s of prisoners…on…May 20 [screws found] the body of Colin Wolf…[decomposing] inside his cell in the Roxbury [Dungeon]…Roxbury’s warden and chief of security are out…[and] 19 [screws have been given demerits, while]…eight medical staffers [have been banned] from facilities statewide…officials [are trying] to [figure out how to cover up the] homicides…[but] Wolf was the ninth [victim] this year…and the 33rd…since 2023.  [Politician] Carolyn Scruggs…wrote that…the [screws]…had violated “basic human decency”…to…[a greater] extent [than the ordinary violations of basic human decency inherent in locking human beings up in cages]…Just two weeks before Wolf’s death…Kelvin Hite…was also killed at Roxbury…

To Molest and Rape (#1577)

When will the mainstream media admit that pigs in schools are a menace?

A [typical and representative cop paid to lurk in]…New Jersey [schools in order to spy on, harass, and intimidate students has been arrested for] sexually assaulting an underage girl.  [Louis J.] Baselice…[groomed and enticed the girl by buying her] an electric scooter…a…cell phone…and…food.  [He was reported by her friends]…

Sexcrime (#1590)

Because this worked so well when it was tried next door in the UK:

[Irish politicians] seek…to [invent crim]es relating to the possession, production or distribution of extreme or violent pornography, and acts of necrophilia…Minister Jim O’Callaghan [promied the scheme by absurdly barfing]…”contributes to perpetuating misogynistic attitudes” [in a government know for misogynistic laws against abortion, sex work, etc]…

Feudalism Redux (#1605)

Most federal courts below the SCOTUS level are still doing their jobs:

…Mayday Health runs a website with information about where people can obtain abortion pills…[but] doesn’t provide abortion pill prescriptions itself…Nonetheless, South Dakota has been engaged in a monthslong First Amendment battle with the group, [absurdly claim]ing…the [First Amendment doesn’t apply to speech about]…abortion…Mayday sued…[over the] unconstitutional [censorship attempt and] U.S. District Judge Camela Theeler seems poised to agree…[as she has] issued a preliminary injunction against South Dakota enforcing the law against Mayday or against…[politician] Nancy Turbak Berry….[for] wearing a Mayday sweatshirt…with…the…[same] message…[as] on Mayday’s gas station placards…South Dakota’s abortion advertising law is a[n illegal] content-based restriction on speech…Commercial speech is generally held to receive less First Amendment protection than non-commercial speech.  But Mayday’s website is not commercial speech, as…”there is no evidence that Mayday holds an economic motivation for its advertisements…Rather, [it]…is a nonprofit organization expressing a moral belief and providing information for free”…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1622)

These things are designed to appeal to the dregs of humanity:

[Perve]rt glasses might seem like a great way of cheating on exams, [if you]…are [a moral imbecile], but…[it may result in legal] consequences …A…South Korea[n] man is facing criminal charges…after using [perve]rt glasses to cheat on a state-run fire engineer test in May.  [When] he was…[caught by the test] administrator…he…pretty much copped to the entire thing…This isn’t the first instance where [perve]rt glasses have been at the center of an academic cheating scandal, but it’s a particularly [serious] one given the context of the exam…it’s fair to say that someone’s competency could be a contributing factor in whether people live or die…

Walled Garden (#1651)

The open internet will soon be a thing of the past:

Senator Ed Markey…rolled out what he [advertises as] an “AI Accountability Agenda”…[but in reality] he wants to [put] unchecked power [to spy on and censor the internet]…into the hands of the American [government]…Two bills in the s[cheme]…move the internet toward a place where you prove your age before you read a page or say anything on it…[one is] brand[ed] COPPA 2.0…[and] lifts the age of a [restri]cted user from under 13 to under 17, then rewrites the rule that decides when a company is liable…[so] an ordinary website…has to judge whether some hypothetical reasonable person would have figured out that a visitor was under 17.  If you guess wrong, the Federal [Government] can [destroy your business].  The cheapest way to stop guessing is to card everyone at the door…Age gates…stand between a reader and everyone else’s expression, and they turn speaking up into a chore rather than a reflex…

Walled Garden (#1652)

Politicians love aping each other’s schemes while also ignoring their failure:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signaled that a European Union–wide identity verification scheme for social media users may be coming soon…[saying] “It is up to [the government] to decide when children…can join social media”…[and] touting the European Commission’s [failed] age-verification app…In truly Orwellian fashion, von der Leyen claimed that “this is about putting power back into the hands of parents”…despite report after report suggesting that Australia’s ban is a flop…politicians in the U.S. and in the U.K. are rushing to emulate Australia.  Now, it looks like the whole of the European Union could be next…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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If there are no punishments for violating someone’s rights, they’re not really rights at all.  –  Hemant Mehta

Size Matters

The only religion which it’s actually free to practice in the US is Christianity:

The Supreme Court has made it official: Religious freedom only applies if you’re a conservative Christian…[by] rul[ing] 6-3…that a Rastafarian man whose hair was cut off against his will—violating his religious beliefs—had no legal remedies available to him…Damon Landor…hadn’t cut his hair in decades because he follows the Nazarite vow—which includes a reference to Numbers 6:5: “… No razor may be used on their head… they must let their hair grow long.”  He continued that vow even after entering two Louisiana jails in 2020, for a five-month sentence…[but] when he was transferred to a third [dungeon]…Landor worried they might try to cut his hair to fit in with [victim subjugation] policies, so he showed [screws] paperwork [of]…The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000…[which] says prisons that receive federal funding can’t violate someone’s religious beliefs unless there’s a really good reason for it…They threw his paperwork in the trash, handcuffed him to a chair, and shaved off his hair.  He later sued…both the prison and the individual [screw]s for violating his rights…[but] writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said [because the screws didn’t want to follow the law]…they couldn’t be held accountable…

Pyrrhic Victory (#1301) 

This is only the beginning:

Madison Square Garden compiled a list of activists who have publicly criticized [its] use of facial recognition…in…a document…accessible to [anyon]e in…the company…MSG[‘s owner] Jim Dolan[, who also owns Radio City Music Hall]…has…a reputation for being pernicious against his perceived enemies, [and] is…keeping track of specific people who take issue with [his creepy surveillance]…The…list…[includes] three people who have criticized MSG’s use of facial recognition: Evan Greer…of…Fight for the Future; Albert Fox Cahn…of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project…and…[Adam] Schwartz…of [EFF, and]…includes background information…social media handles and…screenshots of [criticism]…“The fact that MSG is creating dossiers on activists who say things they don’t like shows exactly why private companies should not be allowed to use dangerous surveillance technologies like facial recognition,” [said] Greer…“Given their recent treatment of a trans woman trying to use the bathroom…I’m also not surprised they misgendered me”…

Censorship Ascendant (#1529)

Goons are now being dispatched to intimidate people for wrongthink:

Two…[ICE goons threaten]ed…a Syracuse [New York] woman…[in an attempt] to [censor her] social media account[, claiming she was mean to them]…PaigeLynne Gonyea said she believes they [we]re referring to a January post where she named the [goon] who [murdered] protester Renee Good.  Gonyea was working as a poll worker…at the Central Library…when [the goons showed up].  She…invited them in[side because]…she did not want to meet them outside alone…The [goons] handed [her] a form letter [full of Trumpist] threats…[of] prosecution…“They tried to scare me into signing it”…she said…she does not intend to delete her post…[but instead contacted] the attorney general’s office…[her US representative, the] Mayor [of Syracuse] and the New York Civil Liberties Union…

Only Rights Can Stop the Wrongs (#1532)

Never forget that this started with censorship of internet porn:

Anastasia Ovsyannikova…has been detained [in Russia for being] on [OnlyFans]…She gained fame through her collaborations with Diana Shurygina, wh[o]…was [also] arrested in Moscow earlier this month [when cops staged a theatrical raid] on her apartment and [stole] cameras and [other] filming equipment…the…p[er]secution is part of a growing wave of cases targeting women over online adult content.  In a separate case, a woman named Anastasia F. was detained in Yekaterinburg on similar charges [for] posting explicit content on OnlyFans…The Kremlin has for several years sought to position the country as more [puritanical]…But this stance hardened a[s part of its propaganda campaign to draw attention away from its disastrous] invasion of Ukraine in February 2022…

Walled Garden (#1595)

Western nations are competing to out-China China:

[Politicians have]…unveil[ed] a [uniparty collaboration] on [the massive internet surveillance and censorship bill named]…KOSA…[which] now…includes age verification for [any website that any politician points at while belching “]sexually explicit[“, plus provisians allowing the government to control the design of] video game[s] and…social media…platforms…[plus threats to attack]…platforms [which refuse] to silence users [enough for politicians’ tastes]…

The Vultures Descend (#1645)

This was always the endgame, regardless of claims to the contrary:

In its quest to outlaw abortion across the country, the [forced birth] movement has [long courted the wishy-washy by claiming they want]…women who get the procedure…spared punishment, while doctors and others who make it available should be p[ersecuted]…But a growing number of [forced-birth fanatics] are starting to [drop the mask,] argu[ing] that the only way to stop women from ending their pregnancies [is] to arrest them.  The [unmasking] is coming as [forced-birth fanatics] express frustration that the number of abortions happening now is higher than [before] Roe v. Wade was overturned, largely because [women don’t want fanatical strangers controlling their bodies]…

Mad Libs (#1649)

Reason needs to be far more skeptical of the outlandish claims of chatbot pushers:

…Utah has passed several laws and initiatives to [funnel]…healthcare [money into the hands of chatbot purveyors], including a[n ill-considered scheme] launched earlier this year to allow…chatbots to fill prescriptions…[via a fascist collaboration named] Doctronic…[so far] the project [only allows algorithmic refills of ongoing]…prescriptions and medication for asthma, diabetes, and other c[hronic] health conditions. Patients still need to visit a[n actual] doctor for new prescriptions…but…[as AMA executive John Whyte points out] “It’s really a concern about a slippery slope. Do we start here with prescriptions, then all of a sudden, is it going to lead to diagnostic tests?”…Doctronic [claims] its platform is guided by the opinions of board-certified physicians[, but the exact same statement is made by insurance companies about the medical washouts whom they employ to deny claims]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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They were having a pancake and sushi luncheon.

I was not familiar with Ibrahim’s work, but I quite liked this piece Jesse Walker selected to accompany his obituary.  The other links above the video were provided by IncarcerNation, Nun Ya, Mike Siegel, T. Greg Doucette, Radley Balko, Missy Mariposa, and IncarcerNation again, in that order.

From the Archives

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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Hello, I am…a…toaster.  –  Google’s “AI summary” algorithm

Pyrrhic Victory (#1465)

The UK wants a flawed computer algorithm to officially override migrants’ self-reported ages:

Age verification is consuming the internet…[and] is about to seep into the offline world…Starting next year, the British government is planning to introduce facial age [guessing software]…to [overrule] the [self-reported] age of asylum seekers…[using the excuse that] many asylum seekers…[do] not have documents proving their age, [so the government can officially]…class…[many legal minors] as adults…strip…[them of] legal protections and [hurl them into] adult-only [concentration camps]…an internal UK government report…shows how the systems regularly mistake [adolescents] for adults…[especially when] deployed against…Sub-Sarahan Africans…[which are typically] off by an average of 4.6 years, meaning that a 13.5-year-old girl could be assessed as an 18-year-old adult…

Enshittification (#1468)

How long before Google becomes completely useless?

If you Google “SCP-565” — an iconic entry in the collaborative fan fiction universe known as the “SCP Foundation” — the [so-called “]AI Overviews[“] describes the nonexistent entity as though it were entirely real, without a single acknowledgement that it’s a piece of online horror fiction…Ed’s Head is a made-up “anomaly” among the many fictional “objects, entities, and phenomena” dreamed up by members of the SCP Foundation fandom.  As the lore goes, the SCP Foundation is a non-government organization that collects and contains supernatural discoveries.  Writers catalogue these fictional phenomena — which range from the terrifying to the downright bizarre — in the form of fake records, studies, research documents, and logs, all of which are indexed in a sprawling archive…[but] Google’s [Chatbot] Overviews…[predictably] present…entities from the expansive SCP universe as real items, events, or beings…We first caught wind of th[is when]…social media discovered that a Google search for “SCP-426” — a fictional toaster that causes anyone talking about the toaster to refer to it in the first person — returns an…Overview in which the [chatbot] discusses the mysterious entity in the first person, as if [it had] itself…been impacted by the toaster’s supernatural effect…

Once again: chatbots are incapable of telling fantasy from reality because they are incapable of understanding that the word fragments (“tokens” in industry jargon) they process correspond to anything outside of the chatbot itself.

Torture Chamber (#1586)

A society can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners:

It has always been difficult to get help inside federal prison.  But in recent years, it has become nearly impossible…The rate at which the bureau granted [relief] has fallen from just under 7% in 2000 to less than 2% in 2023…[the vast majority] are rejected without consideration for the content of their complaint, for arcane reasons such as including too many pages or not filing enough copies…[and] a 1996 federal law requires prisoners to complete the internal grievance process before filing a lawsuit…healthcare-related requests…[a]re the third most common reason for…complaint, behind [dehumanizing living conditions] and [sexual or physical abuse by] staff…Of all medical grievances [clos]ed in 2023, fewer than 1% were granted…state [dungeons typically give slightly more relief, with most]…grant[ing it in] roughly 15% of [cases, though some like]…Texas…[h]over [around] 4%…reasons for rejections [are often ludicrously cruel], like writing with a pencil instead of a pen, or a woman reporting sexual abuse who was rejected for misspelling her abuser’s last name.  One…Spanish-speaking prisoner filed a grievance asking for translation services, but was rejected for writing it in Spanish…

No Difference (#1625)

African anti-LGBT campaigns are a lot like US anti-sex work campaigns:

Niger’s military junta announced a new penal code that criminalizes…anyone who “commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender, Queer, intersex, Asexual…acts”…What does it mean to punish “acts” that are “asexual”?  Does having a platonic relationship constitute an “asexual act” that violates this prohibition?  Ghana’s parliament recently criminalized [merely] “identifying” as [LGBT and invented]…a “duty”…to [rat out one’s friends, family, and confidantes to] police…On the other hand, the high court in Namibia…recently struck down laws against gay sex…[as did] Angola in 2021, Gabon in 2020, and…Botswana…[in 2019]…

To Molest and Rape (#1629)

His involvement with a grooming program isn’t mentioned until 5 lines from the end:

Bethel [Ohio boss hog] Chad Essert [has been arrested] in Florida after a…grand jury indicted him on 70…sex crime…[charges for repeatedly molesting at least one] minor…from…2005 [to] 2010…Essert…served as an instructor with the Young Marines [at] the time…Essert [fled to Florida]…in May [after being rewarded with a paid vacation for some other unnamed crime]…

Mad Libs (#1633)

It’s OK; soon all “healthcare” will just be chatbots anyway:

For more than two years, a D[anish chatbot]…has been listening to Seattle residents’ 911 medical calls without their knowledge…to [algorithmically determine] which callers don’t deserve a[ctual help, but are instead]…route[d]…to a nurse-staffed Texas call center [with a wait time of several hours.  And as is typical for so-called “AI” systems, this is done]…without any disclosure to callers [or] public review…Seattle [bureaucrats describe this as]…a conservative approach [despite]…the…wrongful death of one 911 caller

I Spy (#1642)

How clueless would a woman have to be to give busybodies this kind of data?

Stanford graduates Jenny Duan and Abhinav Agarwal want to solve two hard problems: create a [gewgaw fools will buy] and measure hormones to help [the government track women’s pregnancies].  The pair is building a startup called Clair Health to track inflammation and bloating markers, energy levels, and cycle phase classification to give [government bureaucrats] insights into cycle irregularities and perimenopause, as well as hormonal fluctuations, and how to [target women for violence using] those changes [as justification].  The company has raised $11.6 million in [fascist] funding…and…uses [buzzwords like “]onboarding[“]…[“]AI[“]…[“]biomarkers[“] and…[“]voice stack[” to dazzle marks with bullshit]…Clair Health’s device has 10 biosensors, including a novel biomagnetic sensor for hormonal [surveillance]…of…women [who can get pregnant]…

 

I find paywalls distasteful, and so many people find this blog valuable as a resource I just can’t bring myself to install one.  Furthermore, I find ad delivery services (whose content I have no say over) even more distasteful.  But as I’m now semi-retired from sex work, I can’t self-sponsor this blog by myself any longer.  So if you value my writing enough that you would pay to see it if it were paywalled, please consider subscribing; there are four different levels to fit all budgets.  Or if that doesn’t work for you, please consider showing your generosity with a one-time donation; you can Paypal to maggiemcneill@earthlink.net or else email me at the same address to make other arrangements.  Thanks so much!

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